GERMANY – In the first half of 2018 (1H-2018), the Homag Group recorded an increase in sales over the previous year and once again achieved a high level of incoming orders.

Sales in 1H-2018 were up 1.3% and reached € 606 million (1H-2017: € 598 million), while incoming orders reached € 701 million, a 4.4 percent drop against the first half of 2017 when incoming orders reached an all-time high of € 734 million.

As of June 30, 2018 the HomagGroup’s order backlog was worth € 658 million (1H-2017: € 556 million). While operating EBIT, at € 41.5 million fell from € 48.1 million reached in 1H-2017. This drop was influenced by various factors, among them the introduction of a new ERP software and the associated delivery bottlenecks, a sustained high level of investment in digitization, the launch of new branding for the entire product range, a management fee paid to Dürr (the holding comany), and negative exchange-rate effects particularly from North America. As at June 30, 2018, the Homag Group had 6,567 employees (1H-2017: 6,149 employees).

With capacity utilization remaining high, the world-leading supplier of integrated solutions for production in the woodworking industry expects a positive development in the second half of the year and anticipates a rise in sales and earnings.

“Due to a temporary lower demand in the Chinese market, we remained in the first six months of 2018 significantly behind the exceptionally high level of incoming orders we had seen in the 1st half of 2017. In the other regions, however, we performed well, as anticipated. It is particularly in our project business where we expect the positive development to continue”, explains CEO Pekka Paasivaara. “Moreover, in the first half of 2018 we implemented a modern ERP system at our largest site in Schopfloch, which temporarily affected our operating performance. Therefore, some additional expenses were required to ensure our ability to deliver”, adds Paasivaara.